Variable delivery rotary pump



3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. 26, 1946 DA v10 0. BRANT; I mmvron.

ATTORNEY- May 3, 1949. o. o. BRANT 2,468,734 VARIAB E DELIVERY ROTARY 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 26, 1946 May 3, 1949- D. o. BRAQT 2,468,734

VARI ZABLE DELIVERY ROTARY PUMP 3 She ets-Sheet 3 Filed Jan. 26, 1945 Egg. j F3410.

DAVID 0. BRANT, mmvrm defects of the prior art,

Patented May 3, 1949 2,468,734 VARIABLE DELIVERY ROTARY PUMP David 0. Brant, Beverly Hills, Calif.

Application January 26, 1946, Serial No. 643,613

7 Claims. (Cl. 103-420) This invention relates to a pump of the rotatable piston type.

Although the pump which forms the subject matter of this invention is more particularly intended for handling milk. which requires a pump that can be easily and quickly taken apart, cleaned and sterilized and put back into operation easily and without tools, yet this pump may be in general used for all the purposes to which other rotary pumps may be applied.

This pump is of the suction type and is selfpriming and capable of delivering fluid under considerable pressure, the action of the pump being as positive as is possible with a pump of the suction type.

Pumps of this type now on the market are for the most part unnecessarily complicated and unnecessarily expensive to build and operate because of the metal-to-metal parts needing to be perfectly fitted to each other in order to create the required vacuum within them. Also, hitherto, their metal-to-metal engaging parts generate so much friction that they wear out more rapidly than they should, or else to reduce the friction of the rubbish part it is necessary to gear them down an undesirable amount from the speed produced by the motor, and to vary the discharge it is consequently necessary to change the gear ratio for each change of speed, or else to employ a complicated and costly vari-speed drive.

With a view to overcoming the above mentioned it is an object of this invention to simplify the construction and reduce the number of operating parts required for the pump.

Another object is to provide an improved combination of parts with a view to making it easier to take them apart and reassemble them by the unaided hands.

Another and more specific object is to provide an improved structure for the rotor per se wherein rubber or rubber-like parts may be utilized in a more advantageous way to conrotor, a rotor constructed with vanes oi the kind giving a smooth operation and delivering an uninterrupted stream with a minimum ofagitation of the liquid, accompanied by an absence or foaming and churning which if present might be harmful to the'milk or other edible product being delivered.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide an improved two-part pump housing wherein one part is rotationally movable in relation to the other and to the rotor in such a way so that by means or the adiustment thus afforded the outlet for the stream delivered from the pump may be reduced in size to any desired extent, even to complete closing thereof; and also the direction 01 the flow of the liquid through the pump may be reversed.

A still further object 01 the invention is to provide a new and improved drive shaft sealing means.

With the foregoing and other objects in view the invention consists of certain novel parts hereinaiter described and claimed, it being understood that modifications within the scope or the claims may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate what is at present deemed to be a preferred and alternate embodiment of the invention,

Fig. 1 is a plan view of the device shown attached to an electric motor wherefrom it is driven.

Fig. 2 is a section taken on irregular line 2-4 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 3 is a section taken on angular line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a section taken on angular line 4-4 of Fi 2:

Fig. 5 is a view partly in section and partly in side elevation looking in the direction of the arrows 5-5 of Fig. 6.

Fig. 6 is a section taken on line 6-6 of Fig. 5.

Fig. 7 is a face view of a modification of the rotor per se.

Fig. 8 is a perspective view of one of the vane structures of the rotor shown in Fig. '7.

Figs. 9, 10, 11 and 12 are diagrammatical representations of difierent settings of the pump housing in relation to the pump rotor.

Fig. 13 is a perspective view of the sealing gasket, a portion being broken away to indicate a section through the device.

Fig. 14 is a view of the rotationally adjustable coupling means for attaching the pump housing to the motor, the view looking in the direction of the arrows ll-ll of Fig. 2.

Fig. 15 is a view of the rotationally adjustable coupling means looking in the direction of the arrows l5l5 of Fig. 2.

Referring in detail to the drawings, the main parts of the structure shown are the pump casing i0, motor housing H, intermediate mounting member l2, coupling sleeve or bushing l3, rotor l4 provided with peripheral vanes l5, and the clamping means l6 whereby the pump casing I0 is fixedly secured in various rotational adjustments in relation to the motor housing H.

rotor vanes i The rotor body il including its parts l8 anus is of the nature of a thick fiat plate and the vanes it are of substantially the v c eaper same thickness as said plate, each of said vanes,

as seen in side elevation being of an ovoidal shape except that it has a definite point at the more tapered end of the ovoid. There is cut into that end of each vane l5 which is opposite to its point 20 an arcuate recess 2|, the arc of this recess extending through somewhat more than 180 degrees, this recessed portion of the vane being rockably fitted over the aforesaid rotor extension is so that the vane may rock to a limited extent. In operation the rocking movement of the vane toward the center of the rotor is limited by an adjacent curved wall 22 of the rotor body, and its outward rocking movement is limited by the vane contacting with the inner face of the peripheral wall of the rotor casing.

As well shown in Fig. 6. a spider-like reinforcing member 23 is provided for the rotor, said member consisting of a central hub portion 24 which-is securable to the outer end of the motor shaft 25 and which is furnished with four radially directed arms 28, each of said arms having an arcuate tangentially directed end portion 2'! which terminates in a slightglobular enlargement 28 located centrally of the circular rotor extension l9. The reason for providing this spider-like reinforcement is that the rotor body is preferably made of a non-metallic material and therefore needs reinforcement.

Each of the four vanes shown is of the same size and pattern and therefore a description of one will sufiice for all. Each vane is shown made of rubber or rubber-like material which, however, is sufficiently dense and form-retaining so w casing 4 I that the attached vane may be depended upon to remain in its operative position and perform its pumping function efficiently. In order that each vane may respond more dependably to being swung out under the urge of centrifugal force, there is embedded in the point portion of each vane a metallic weight 30.

Describing the structure of the device from the motor side thereof, the motor casing H has it adjacent side portion modified by forming an annular recess 3i therein concentric to the motor shaft 25, the peripheral wall of said recess being screw threaded. Into this recess is screwed the coupling sleeve l3 already mentioned, the greater portion of the length of said sleeve projecting outwardly from said recess. Onto the projecting portion of said sleeve is screwed the already mentioned intermediate member or mounting disk l2 said member being in the form of a generally circular plate having a screw threaded central aperture for screwing onto said sleeve 13. Spaced somewhat inwardly from its periphery the mounting disk I2 is provided with an annular rib or rise 33 outwardly around which the disk has also an annular recess 34. The adjacent side portion of the pump casing I0 i of a similarly circularly stepped contour thus providing it with a peripheral annular shoulder 35 which matches with and fits into the recess 34, being secured to ing screw threaded end portions, each rod having one of these end portions screwed into a socketed lug 31 provided for it on the motor casing II and having its opposite end portion projecting through a tie bar 33, hand nuts 33 being screwed upon the projecting end'portion' bfithe rods.

Describing more in detaii'th'e structure of the pump housing l0, said housing comprises two parts or halves consisting of an apertured back part or closure 40 and a front rotor enclosing said back part being mounted upon said intermediate member l2 so as to be rotationally adjustable thereon about an axis which is concentric to the axis of the driving shaft 26 and rotor ll.

The part III, as shown in Figs. 2 and 15, is provided with a circumferentlally extending, right angularly shaped shoulder 42 upon which is mounted with a rotationally adjustable fit the flanged mouth end 43 of the casing 4i, it being constructed to match and mate with said shoulder 42.

The flanged mouth end 43 has, adjacent to the cup-shaped opening of the casing, cut into the face thereof which contacts the outwardly directed face which forms-one side of said shoulder 42, a wide annular groove 44, outer annular face portion which in thesecured position has a metal-to-metal contact with said outwardly directed face.

A toroidal gasket ring a is fitted into said groove 44 between the two halve of the pump housing to prevent leaking and it is compressed into a flattened state when themetal-to-metal contact is made between the two halves as a result of tightening the bar 33 against the exposed face of the. casing II as shown in Fig. 2. v I

The side portion of the part 40 of the pump housing which is adjacent to and supported by the mounting member I2 is mounted so as to be rotationally adjusted thereon about an axis which is concentric to the axis of the motor shaft 25 that drives the rotor M as aforestated. However, the oircumferentially extending, right angularlyshaped shoulder 42 is not concentric to the axis of the drive shaft, but as shown in Fig, 15 is eccentric to the drive shaft and the point from which its radius is struck as well as the point from which the radius of the housing is struck is shown in Figs. 3 and 4'.

Thus it will be seen by referring once more to Fig.v 3 that there will always be a point of con tact of the rotor with the inner peripheral wall of the housing and that in whatever position the part 40 is rotationally adjusted by a spanner wrench applied to the spanner holes 48 a point of contact forming a dam between the outer periphery of the rotor and the inner periphery of the housing will always be maintained.

By adjusting the back wall of the pump housing on its concentric seat provided by the rib 33 the outlet for the stream delivered through the discharge port 41 may be reduced insize to any desired extent, even to the complete closing thereof. In'this way the relative adjustment of the two parts of the pump housing may be stated to function the same asa valve.

Various adjustments, diagrammatically illustrated in Figs. 9- 12 show certain point contacts of the rotor and easing. In Fig. 9 the point contact indicates maximum discharge, the same as means of the clamping means thereby leaving an indicated in Fig. 3. Fig. 10 shows how a. clockwise movement of the back member 40 results in a reduced discharge. Fig. 11 shows reduced discharge by rotating the member 4. anti-clockwise, and Fig. 12 shows the flow of the liquid reversed caused by rotating the point contact to the opposite side of the pump.

" The intake port 48 of the pump housing is located substantially opposite the outlet port 41, thus dividing the inner periphery of the casing ll into four equal spaces. The port 41 as shown in Fig. 2 illustrates the width of both ports so that there is provided at each side thereof a continuous or uninterrupted peripheral wall 49 against which the various vanes l5 contact under the urge of centrifugal force. The rotor H occupies the full width of the casing Cl as shown in Fig. 2.

The rotor M is rotatably mounted upon the motor drive shaft 25 by screwing the reduced threaded extremity 5| of the exposed portion of the hub 24a as seen in Fig. 5 into the threaded bore of the coupling 52, a fragmentary portion only of which is shown in Fig. 5; By referring to Fig. 2 it will be seen that the coupling 52 has its threaded bore also screwed onto the reduced threaded extremity of the drive shaft 25, the coupling being chamfered at its opposite ends to match the chamfer resulting from reducing the terminal portion of the shaft 25 and the hub 24a. The manner of chamfering the parts aforesaid aids in more properly aligning the axis of the rotor and the axis of the drive shaft thereby preventing wabble. The chamfer on the hub 24a is for an additional purpose to be set forth later.

A sealing gasket 53 of novel construction, separately shown in Fig. 13 is provided to insure a leak-proof seal between the pump housing and the drive shaft. It comprises a tubular body portion 54 with an internally directed peripheral flange 55 at one end (the rotor side) and an outwardly directed flange 55 at its opposite end (motor side) The flange 55 embraces the peripheral surface of the hub 24a with a leak-proof rubbing flt and the chamfer adjacent the hub enables the flange 55 to be fitted to the hub which infills it without telescoping the flange into the body portion of the gasket.

The length of the gasket 53 is such as to extend the complete distance between the back wall of the rotor and the front end of the coupling I3. Said outwardly directed flange, as a result of this assembling, being adapted to be pinched by the internal annulus 51 of the back wall '40 of the pump housing.

The body portion 54 of the gasket is elastic and the resiliency thereof provides for absorbin any vibratory wabble which the shaft 25 might acquire while rotating. To provide for this wabble absorption an annular space 58 is created between the flange 51 and the body portion of the gasket. The intake nipple 59 and outlet nipple 50 are each connected by couplings to conduits which possess a certain degree of flexibility and therefore do not offer sufilcient rigidity to offset this vibratory movement when it occurs.

Figs. 7 and 8 I show a modified rotor and vane structure. The structure shown in these figures is reversed from that which was previously described. That is to say the semi-circular projections I9 instead of being a part of the body, is in the modified form, made a part of the vane and the socket for rockably attaching the vane in the modified showing is in the rotor rather than in the vane. In Figs. '1 and 8 the designations for 6 the different parts are the same as those earlier described except that the modified parts carry the sub-letter a.

In operation the back wall 40 of the pump is set so that the contact point of the rotor and pump housing is at the end of the discharge port 41. This setting causes the vanes I5 to push air and/or fluid out through said port and create a vacuum on the farside or intake side of the dam formed at the contact point. As air is driven from the intake side liquid flows in and is pushed toward the discharge port by the vanes, thus priming the pump.

If a smaller discharge is desired and no further priming is required, the back wall of the pump may be rotated so that the contact point is over the discharge port (see Fig. 10). The displacement and the tightness of the dam become less and the discharge is reduced to any desired degree.

If the contact point is rotated farther towards the intake port (see Fig. 12) the flow will be reversed and the discharge port will become the intake port and the fiow can be varied as desired by further rotating the contact point over the previous intake port. It will therefore be seen that the contact point can be set at any one of the 360 degrees through which the back Wall can be rotated. Obviously during the manual adjusting of the back wall of the housing in relation to the front wall thereof or even when unscrewing the rotor out of its coupling member or screwing it into the same some provision will be made to restrain from movement the parts to which the adjustable parts are operatively connected.

The flexibility of the vanes permit them to conform better to the ever changing contour of the housing and to prevent marring of the metal when grit particles get into the pump. Water and other liquids make the rubber parts slippery so that they are water lubricated just the same as rubber bearings on the propeller shafts of ships are lubricated and take care of sand particles.

To dismantle and clean the pump the discharge and intake pipes are first removed together with their couplings which unite them to the nipples 59 and 50. The clamping bar 38 is then unfastened and the front wall of the pump housing removed, exposing the rotor Id. The rotor is next unscrewed from the motor shaft coupling 52. The vanes are slid sidewise out of the rotor and the parts cleaned. The metal is steam sterilized and the rubber parts are soaked in a mild salt solution until next used when they are sterilized in a chlorinated solution which prolongs the life of the rubber.

As air is removed from the pump it is filled with liqiud making the operation of the pump foamless even with colloidal substances, which foam readily, such as milk. This is a valuable feature as foam is a great problem in milk handling.

Thus it may be seen I have constructed a pump of greatest simplicity, economy of operating costs, easy to clean and sterilize and reassemble without tools. Neither is there any gear drive or metal-to-metal moving parts. A variable discharge is provided to meet any requirement up to the full capacity of the pump.

I claim:

1. In a variable delivery pump, a casing having radial intake and discharge ports, said casing being open at one end only, a rotor mounted within said casing and having a drive shaft extending axially therefrom through the open end of the casing, an end closure for said casing mounted to rotate concentrically about said shaft, said closure engaging and being rotatable with relation to the open end of the casing about a center eccentric to the axis of the shaft, whereby turning of the closure enables selective eccentric adjustment of the casing relative to the rotor.

2. In a rotary pump, a casing open at one end and having spaced intake and discharge ports,

a rotor mounted in said casing having an axially 10 extending drive shaft connected therewith, an end closure for said casing mounted for rotation about said shaft, said closure engaging and being rotatable with relation to the open end of said casing, the centers of rotation of said end closure about the shaft and rotation of the closure with respect to said casing being eccentric to one another whereby through angular adjustment of said end closure the position of the rotor in the casing is selectively variable to control delivery from the pump.

3. In a rotary pump, a casing having radial intake and discharge ports, said casing being open at one end, a rotor mounted in said casing and having a drive shaft extending axially therefrom through the open end of the casing, an end closure for said casing engaging and being rotatable with relation to the open end of the casing about a center eccentric to the axis of said shaft and rotatably mounted upon a support to turn concentrically with the axis of said shaft whereby angular adjustment of said closure upon said support varies the position of the rotor in the casing to control delivery of discharge flow.

4. In a rotary pump, a casing having a cylindrical chamber provided with intake and discharge ports, said casing being open at one end, a rotor mounted within said casing having a drive, shaft connected axially thereto and projecting through :the open end of the casing, a housing supported about said shaft, a support member mounted on said housing, an end closure for said casing engaging and being rotatable with relation to the open end of the casing about a center eccentric to the axis of said shaft, said closure also having rotative mounting on said support member concentrically with the axis of said shaft whereby angular adjustment of the closure enables variation of the position of the rotor with relation to the chamber of the casing for controlling direction and volume of flow.

5. A pump as claimed in claim 3, wherein said closure has interfitting axially separable connection with said casing and support member.

6. A pump as claimed in claim 4 wherein said support member comprises an annulus threadedly engaging said shaft housing.

7. A pump as claimed in claim 3 wherein an elastic gasket is resiliently mounted between the drive shaft and the interior periphery of the closure to provide a fluid seal about said shaft.

DAVID 0. BRANT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent: 

